The Israeli army has warned Lebanese civilians not to return to 60 villages in the south of the country, where a three-day ceasefire took place after more than a year of fighting with the Shiite armed group Hezbollah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published a map showing a stretch of territory several kilometers deep, to which residents are not allowed to return. Anyone who did so would be endangering themselves.
More than a million Lebanese have been displaced by the fighting, mainly from the south. Tens of thousands of Israelis have also been displaced.
The ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday morning, although officials in Israel and Lebanon accused each other of already violating the truce.
On Thursday, the IDF said its forces fired artillery and carried out airstrikes on targets in southern Lebanon. It added that it shot at suspects after spotting activity at a Hezbollah weapons facility, and that vehicles arrived in several areas, which it said violated the ceasefire.
Lebanon accused Israel of violating the agreement “several times” and said it was monitoring the situation.
As part of the ceasefire, a multinational monitoring group, consisting of representatives of the US, France and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), was established to monitor compliance with its terms.
In his first interview since the ceasefire was declared, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the IDF to wage “an intensive war” if Hezbollah commits a “massive violation” of the ceasefire would commit.
The ceasefire “could be short-lived,” he said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14.
Under the terms of the deal, brokered by the US and France, Israeli forces will withdraw from southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese army is deployed there at the same time, and no other armed groups will be allowed to operate in the area. This is intended to happen within 60 days of the start of the ceasefire.
[BBC]
The zone where the IDF said residents are not yet allowed to return extends from Mansouri on the coast to Shebaa in the east.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese army warned residents not to return to areas where Israeli forces were present before they withdrew.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon early last month after the IDF intensified military action against Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began the current conflict with Israel by firing rockets in and around northern Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza, which killed around 1,200 people.
Hezbollah said it acted in solidarity with the Palestinians after Israel responded to Hamas’ attack with a massive military campaign in Gaza. The Hamas-led Health Ministry says at least 44,330 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive.
Since October 8, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire with increasing intensity. The Lebanese Health Ministry said Israeli strikes killed at least 3,961 people and injured 16,520 others during that period. The figures make no distinction between civilians and combatants.
Hezbollah attacks have killed 31 soldiers and 45 civilians in Israel, Israeli authorities say. Another 45 Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon.
In his first response since the deal, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said the group would work with the Lebanese army to implement the ceasefire.
Hezbollah, he said, had won a major victory, preventing Israel from destroying the country. It is a narrative that may be embraced by its supporters, but not by others, given the scale of loss of life and widespread destruction of land and property in Lebanon.
